How to drink champagne: tips

Champagne refers to the festive alcoholic beverages. Due to its tenderness, sparkling wine is opened at gala events and wedding feasts. Many people do not think about snacking and proper use of champagne, but in vain. Nobody has canceled drinking culture, a sparkling drink requires adherence to certain norms. How and with what to drink champagne, consider today.

How to open and pour champagne correctly

1. Champagne consumed chilled. Therefore, before the feast send the bottle with the contents in the refrigerator and achieve a temperature of 10-12 degrees. Do not freeze the drink or cool it more than the mark. Otherwise, the champagne will lose its sparkling, aftertaste and aroma.
2. It is assumed that a bottle of champagne is immersed in a container with crushed ice. However, this aspect experienced sommeliers refute.The correct option is to pour cold water into a bucket, then add ice cubes so that they float. After that, the container is installed on the footboard, put a bottle in a bucket. Installation rolls to the table and remains there throughout the event.
3. To open the champagne, take the bottle in hand, do not shake. Install the vessel with the contents, keeping the angle of 45 degrees. Now grab the cork, scroll the bottle in your hands (and not vice versa, as is commonly believed). Thus the cork will come out of the neck easily, without a “shot”.
4. Prepare tall glasses with a long stem, created from smooth transparent glass to use champagne (extending from the stem to the middle, then tapering). Wine glasses do not need to be pre-cooled. While bottling, slightly tilt the glass, then pour the drink along the wall in 2 sets. Let's foam the opportunity to settle. The glass is filled with ¾.

How to drink champagne

1. Ice is not added to the glass with the drink, cooling is carried out in advance on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or in a bucket with cold water and ice. When the champagne reaches the desired temperature, you can begin to use it.
2. Take a glass in your left hand, do not exhale, as before strong alcoholic beverages.Sip a sparkling wine in small sips, savoring every portion. You have to feel the language of the whole fragrant bouquet of the drug.
3. It should be remembered that after you put a glass of champagne on the footboard or table, you can not raise the glass again. Even if you took "just one sip." Simply put, if you poured a full glass, while the wine turned out to be delicious, you need to keep the glass in your hand until it is completely empty.
4. It is also important to bear in mind that a glass of sparkling wine should be held by the leg, not the main body (as is the case with whiskey). From the warmth of the hands, the drink will warm up, become less sparkling and attractive. You will not get true pleasure from the use.
5. If the celebration began in the hall (for example), and then you were called to the festive hall at the table, leave the champagne in the first room. According to etiquette, in the main hall you will pour a glass of fresh sparkling wine.
6. People who want to follow all the canons, it is important to learn how to open a bottle of champagne correctly. Hold the bottle label to the palm, scrolling not the lid, but the vessel itself. Wait for some time to foam settled, only then proceed to bottling.

What to eat champagne

Proper selection of snacks will help you to observe all the subtleties of drinking sparkling wine. Consider the following recommendations when you are in a restaurant or in the process of planning a grand celebration.

Many believe that champagne can be drunk with any dishes, but this statement is erroneous. Sparkling wine is best suited for desserts, cold and warm snacks, main dishes. With the first alcohol is not combined, however, as with some hot and cold.

1. Cold snacks. If you want to show the guests what you know about etiquette, serve champagne with cold snacks first. On a festive table, a special place stands out for such dishes. Home-made or purchased pickles, smoked sausages, cheeses, meats, canned seafood, sandwiches with the addition of greens and cheese (no extra ingredients, pepper), and salads are distinguished from the most common appetizers.
2. A fish. Sparkling wine is not drunk in combination with salted fish, since such a duet will cause disgust. However, no one forbids you to treat your guests with hot smoked or cold smoked fish with moderate salting.The main thing is to accompany the dish with sauce and cheese plate. Supplements are only suitable if the fish is cooked without hot spices and served with a small amount of fresh vegetables.
3. Sausage. Champagne is not drunk with sausages of any origin. These include baked ham, brisket, smoked breast, ham, etc. However, if you use the listed products as a filling for sandwiches, combine them with quail / chicken egg and cheese. Feel free to serve refreshments to semi-dry and dry sparkling wine.
4. Cheese. If you are planning to spend the evening with your loved one or have a wide feast for a decent number of guests, do not lose sight of the cheese plate. The choice of variety depends on the personal preferences of the host and friends. Cheese with spices, spicy, salty and lightly salted, hard, soft - all options are suitable. Feel free to combine sweet / semi-sweet, dry / semi-dry sparkling wine.
5. Salads Cold snacks also include salads that are in perfect harmony with champagne. Prepare them from fresh vegetables with the addition of olive oil, shrimp and other seafood, hard cheese. These combinations are ideal for sparkling wines with a note.“Semi-dry” and “dry”. Salads can not be seasoned with mayonnaise or sauce based on it, hot spices, garlic, sour cream. Snacks are also not worth cooking stewed vegetables.
6. Meat. When it comes to warm snacks, you should also pay attention to the correct selection of champagne. Sparkling wine is not served with meat. However, it can be used in combination with chicken and turkey, boiled or steamed fish. Decorate the listed preparations with fresh greens, egg and grated cheese, then serve to guests. The main thing is not to season the dishes with hot spices and sauces. In the case of chicken, the bird should not be fried. Quenching and boiling is acceptable, the dish is seasoned with melted butter.
7. Seafood. Cocktail on the basis of various octopuses, squid, mussels, oysters, lobsters, crab, shrimp is considered the most popular when choosing dishes for serving champagne. And the appetizer can be represented in all its diversity (fried, stewed, boiled, steamed). Bake the sea gifts in the oven, then stuff them, combine with dry and semi-dry, sweet and semi-sweet sparkling wine.
8. Fruits. It is difficult to imagine a feast with the supply of champagne, which is not accompanied by a fruit plate. Suitable as a snack grapes, figs, apples, pears, bananas, with the exception of citrus. Often drink consumed with seasonal berries. Ideal - fresh strawberries, covered with chocolate and ground nuts.
9. Dessert. If champagne is served at the end of a grand event, its combination with dessert will be appropriate. As a last, give preference to vanilla, creme brulee or creamy ice cream. Also suitable fruit (almond, apricot, peach). In the case when there is a choice of dessert for pink and red champagne, you can not do without chocolate ice cream with nuts or without them. Until recently, it was not customary to combine sparkling wines with jelly, pudding, cake, marshmallow, marmalade, cakes, cookies, sweets or cream, but now it is quite acceptable.

Champagne is used chilled (temperature 10-12 degrees). Particular attention is paid to the choice of glasses, the glass should be made of transparent smooth glass and have a long leg. Sparkling wine is drunk slowly in small sips.If you take a glass in your hand, put it on the table only after emptying it. For a spectacular presentation, pick the right snack without breaking the permissible combinations.

Video: how to open champagne